2023 Ready-to-Launch Grants
A vibrant community is one where all residents are empowered to pursue economic, health, and social well being. The National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) recognizes the vital role transportation plays in all activities that support the empowerment of individuals across the board. Yet often community transportation systems lack the resources and/or strategies to provide the level of mobility to residents that they would like to.
The 2023 Ready-to-Launch Grants, funded by the FTA, of up to $75,000 will allow communities to pilot a promising mobility solution, the development of which was inspired and informed by the results of community research. The solution being proposed must be a new idea, not the expansion or continuation of an existing service. The solution also must address transportation access with regard to low-income, elderly, and/or underserved individuals.
The deadline for the grant applications is November 23, 2022, 11:59 pm ET. The application can be accessed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions on the RFP can be addressed to Amy Conrick at conrick@ctaa.org.
Eligibility to apply
I own a small business, providing medical transportation services to people in need. Can my organization apply for this grant?
Answer: The applicant organization must be a non-profit organization or a government agency that is able to receive, or be a subrecipient of, federal funding. For-profit companies can partner with a nonprofit or governmental to apply; the latter have to have an active role in the project.- Our agency received a NCMM grant in 2019 for a different type of project than our current project. Are we still eligible to apply?
Answer: No, the same agency cannot apply again, even if it is for a different project. - Is a county health department eligible to apply for funding?
Answer: Yes. Please see the RFP for specific requirements for this grant.
Eligible activities that can be funded
- Would you fund a project in which services are brought to community members (e.g., through a mobile health clinic) rather than bringing people to the service?
Answer: Our funder, the Federal Transit Administration, focuses on transporting people to the destinations they need to reach. It does not fund costs for bringing services to the community. - The Ready-to-Launch grant emphasizes that it is for new pilot projects, not expansions or extensions. Would a pilot of an idea that has been tried before in another community, but now in a different geographic location and with different partners, be eligible?
Answer: Yes, as long as this is a new application, the idea itself doesn’t have to be unique. - [From a hospital]Can grant funds be applied toward 1) Staff (driver) wages, 2) insurance of transportation vehicle, driver, 3) fuel cost of transport vehicle when community member is being transported?
Answer: Please see the list of eligible activities listed on page 8. of the RFP. Note that any pilot transportation service funded under this grant must be open to the public at large. Can the grant be used to purchase subsidized travel vouchers for a refugee population through an existing program?
Answer: No, the grant funds are intended to fund a pilot program, not extend an existing program.
Timeline
- When would these grants start?
Answer: We hope on January 1, 2023, but the start date depends on when we receive final approval from FTA for our recommended grantees.